The Westin Bayshore is the first of the Westin properties to receive the prestigious Canadian Wildlife Federation's Backyard Habitat Certification. The Certification Program recognizes the amazing efforts Canadians are taking to meet the habitat needs of wildlife, and allows individuals to have their property certified by officially designating their gardens as wildlife friendly.

The Children & Nature Network International Conference: Kids Need Nature, Nature Needs Kids is being co-hosted by the Children & Nature Network (C&NN) and the Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF). It is the first time that C&NN has held this Conference outside of the United States. Join us at this premier international gathering of leaders, advocates and activists from the children and nature movement.

The overall objective for the Conference is to promote deep, cross-sector engagement and collaborations to create a world in which all children have access to nature in their daily lives by:

Articulating the important role that nature plays in healthy childhood development

Disseminating best and promising practices

Sharing resources

Supporting policy change

Including representation from diverse voices, backgrounds and sectors

Inspiring participants to take personal/professional actions that will increase the number of children who are able to experience nature* and the amount of time they spend outdoors

Having global reach with measurable local action

*Nature-centered experiences for children are those that instill wonder and engender curiosity; take place in outdoor settings ranging from backyards to neighborhoods to city parks to wilderness; and occur in the form of guided activities as well as unstructured nature play in children’s everyday lives.

As we plan our 2017 conference in Vancouver, we wish to acknowledge that the event will take place on the ancestral, traditional and unceded indigenous territories of the Coast Salish Peoples, in particular, the Squamish, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.

C&NN2017 — Supported by the Province of B.C: We love to see how you #exploreBC!

British Columbia has no shortage of picture-perfect moments and places – we want to see your favorites! Share your BC experiences with others by taking photos, and then posting them to Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #exploreBC. And have fun out there!

If we are going to save environmentalism and the environment, we must also save an endangered species: the child in nature

More than 800 cross-sector thought leaders in the children and nature movement will convene in Vancouver this April, arriving from every corner of the world to gather new ideas, evidence-based research and scalable strategies to address the needs in their community. Your investment in this event is an investment in a healthy, nature-rich future for all for all Canadians.